The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1887-11-01

AT CONCLUSION OF NlF. tIrliHell argument,
which had occupied less than half the time to
which he was entitled, General Butler arose
and said that the introduction of all this new
matter (refeIrng to Mr.. Grinnels recital of
circumstances and the results of the searches
and seizures) which was not in the brief of
counsel, and when he had not seen anywhere
i'll print would compel him to ask for more
time than had been allotted to him; that this
eXtraneous matter must be popular with the
court or its introduction would not be per-
mitted.
The chief Justice remarked that the court
could not know whether these matters were in
the record, or not, but as they were stated by
the states attorney, the court must assume
that they were.
General Butler said he had not examined
the whole 5000 pages, but he knew and could
| demonstrate that some portion of this extra
| neous matter was very different from what ap-
| peared in the record, and he must ask for
more time to speak with reference to matters
! of which he had not before heard.
| General Butler said that he would state the
| points of contention and if he stated them
wrongly he wanted to be corrected by any gen.
| tleman who did not advocate the right to steal
men and to steal their papers.
After describing what happened previous to
| the Haymarlet meeting he said
"At that meeting bomb was thrown by
| somebody for some purpose, and there is not
one word in these 5000 pages of evidence to
show that any one of these men had anything
| to do with the throwing of that bomb. There
were but two of these men within miles of
| that meeting. and one had his wife and two
| little children in the very place, almost where
that bomb was lighted Its explosion
! killed a single policemen, and within few
| days all Of these men were arrested without
warrant, committed to Jail and held there
| without examination and without process until
| they were indicted by the grand jury, and to
| describe the simple crime If crime it was. the
| states attorney had to draw an indictment of
! sixty-nine counts. During the trial the judge
| allowed questions to be asked with regard TO
| oil oil NH o11Iltc
of the indictment there was no conspiracy al
| legged. He said that he was ready TO pledge
| himself that there was not a single man of the
| jury selected who had not said that lie had a
| tirnl-and some of them an administrations
| viction, opinion and prejudice against the de-
| PENDANTS.
After a great deal of rambling talk about the
| composition of the jury, dissatisfaction with
| sentencing of prisoners in their absence, and
that of their counsel, the injustice done them
| by unreasonable search and seizure, " ETC.,
General Butler said that if all these things
| could be done, "the question was to be de-
| bated whether this government would not be
a little better if it were overturned into an an
archy than if it were to be carried on in this
| fashion,
upon this question. have the individuality of being
| the ely man in the United States that condemned
| and executed men for undertaking to overturn the
| law. There thousands of them. And for that
act, please your honor, price was set on my head
as though were q VOL ana IZ0,UUU was 0u6reQ 10
| any man who could capture me to murder me. by
Jefferson Davis and his associates and who if they
were here at your bar trying to ascertain whether
| they should have honest and fair trial for their
great crimes and they called upon me-their lives in
danger-I should hold it to be my duty to stand
| here and do all that might to defend them That
| is the chivalry of law if understand it, and if
don't, it is not of much consequence for am quite
| easily and quick passing away.
| General Butler proceeded to the considera-
| ton of the special and peculiar questions rails
ed by the cases of Fielden and Spies, who are
| foreigners. He contended that treaties were
| the supreme law of the land, and that these
| prisoners were entitled, by virtue of the
treaties with Germany and Great Britain, to
all the rights and privileges of American
citizens at the time such treaties were
made. A state had no power to
try these men by one of its own laws which
| was not a law of the land at the time the
treaties were ratified. He did not mean, he
said, that foreigner could come into state
and break its laws with nnpunity and that the
state could not touch him. But he did mean
that state could only try him in accordance
with the law of the land-the whole land-at
the time the treaty with his government was
made. This, he said, was an important ques-
| ton to every American citizen because in re-
turn for the concessions made by this govern
ment in the treaty with Great Britain, the
government of that country had made similar
concessions to us. Suppose that a citizen of
the United States should go to ireland and
should make some remarks about the advan-
tages of republican form of government and
should be arrested and tried by the
crimes act in violation of the treaty.
| Would we not stand up and say that this man
must be tried by fair and impartial jury :?
He must be tried as an Englishman would
| have been tried at the time the treaty was
made, and that he cannot be dealt with in a
more summary way under the latter law After
desultory remarks about the record and the
| necessity of having it before the court and
another reference to breaking open safes and
| desks, General Butler said:
'There is doubt that the prisoners were entitled
to trial by an impartial iurya stupid jury, if you
| please-because I don't think man who reads
newspapers is any more competent to try case;
rather worse If he pays any attention to their hes
AS enunciated by the chief justices of the
| supreme court, an impartial juror, he said, is
| one who Islands i'll freedom of mind without
bias Or prejudice, and is Indifferent" Peti.
TONERS were not tried by such jury and are
entitled to protection under the federal consti-
tuition. "If,'' he said, "the court is to give me
jurors as prejudiced as some of those in this
| case, had better go to the land of Hottentots,
for they would not allow me to be stolen and
taken back to Illinois. General Buffers allu-
sion is to the kidnapping of Ker, referred to by
| counsel on the other side in defending their
| search and seizure Gen. Butler then returned
again to "the unreasonable searches and seiZ-
| ures'' complained of by the petitioners, and
said his associate, Mr.. Tucker, had character
| lied the proceeding as subpoena duces tecum,"
| executed by locksmith. "Why,your honors,"
he exclaimed, "they searched under burglary,
headed by the states attorney, on his own
admission. No miserable policeman or half
witted constable, but the state prosecuting at
torney does burglary-steals papers-and says
you can't help that. He puts it with a sort of
triumph and we are told that our immunitieS
and privileges are not involved and that our
remedy is to sue for trespass. What
a beautiful remedy! Sue the states
attorney and be tried by such jury as the laws
of Illinois would give. Better be in place not
to be named for comfort"
AS n final reason why the writ should be
granted, General Butler urged that the prison
ers had been sentenced to death in their absence
and without being asked whether they had any
reason to give why the sentence of death should
not be pronounced upon them. The record, he
said, did not show that they were absent when
sentenced, but they could prove it. The record
showed that they were present, but they could
prove by half of Chicago this was a mistake.
In conclusion General Butler said
May L, in closing, make one observation. If
ten lives can be taken in this way, as you have
seen exhibited here today, better anarchy
better be without law than with any such
law"
Not for Her.